Mega-electron-volt ion beam induced anisotropic plasmon resonance of silver nanocrystals in glass

30 MeV Si ion beam irradiation of silica glass containing Ag nanocrystals causes alignment of Ag nanocrystals in arrays along the ion tracks. Optical transmission measurements show a large splitting of the surface plasmon resonance bands for polarizations longitudinal and transversal to the arrays. The splitting is in qualitative agreement with a model for near-field electromagnetic plasmon coupling within the arrays. Resonance shifts as large as 1.5 eV are observed, well into the near-infrared. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.